Anne M. Gaffney, vice president of the Technology Development Center for ABB Lummus Global, will speak onThe AlkyCleanAlkylation ProcessNew Technology Eliminates Liquid Acidsas part of the West Virginia University Department of Chemical Engineerings Dow/Union Carbide Reaction Engineering and Catalysis Seminar Series honoring R. Richard Bannister.

The lecture, free and open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in Assembly Room A at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy on the Evansdale Campus. A reception will follow.

Gaffney will provide an overview of the AlkyCleanalkylation process, a cleaner and inherently safer olefin/paraffin alkylation technology that employs an environmentally friendly zeolite catalyst. The new solid-acid catalyst produces high-quality alkylate without the drawbacks of existing hydrofluoric and sulfuric acid-based technologies.

Neither acid-soluble oils nor spent acids are produced. Eliminating the use of these toxic and corrosive liquid acids greatly reduces maintenance and monitoring requirements while addressing environmental and safety concerns. This newclean fuelstechnology has successful completed its demonstration phase and has proven to be robust, requiring minimal maintenance while producing high-quality product and exhibiting both tolerance to upsets and exposure to contaminants.

ABB Lummus Global is an international organization focused on oil and gas, petroleum refining and petrochemical process industries. Its projects and services extend from gas-processing plants and refineries to petrochemical, chemical and polymer facilities. The Technology Development Center supports the companys existing technologies and provides new-process research and development for its business groups, including olefins, petrochemicals, refining, and reaction engineering design and modeling.

Gaffney received bachelors degrees in chemistry and mathematics from Mount Holyoke College and a doctorate in physical organic chemistry from the University of Delaware. She has been involved in industrial chemistry and chemical engineering for 25 years, contributing to the technology portfolios of Arco Chemical Co., DuPont and Rohm and Haas, in addition to ABB Lummus Global.

The lecture series is held in honor of R. Richard Bannister, a long-time friend and supporter of the Department of Chemical Engineering at WVU . He retired in 1992 as a corporate research fellow at Union Carbides Technical Center in South Charleston.